William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas, 2nd Earl of Avondale (1425 – 22 February 1452) was a Scottish

Kingdom of Scotland

The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...

 nobleman. He was the eldest son of James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas

James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas

James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas, 1st Earl of Avondale , known as "the Gross", was a Scottish nobleman. He was the second son of Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Douglas and Joan Moray of Bothwell and Drumsargard , d...

 and Beatrice Sinclair.

The power of the Black Douglases, lost after the execution of the 6th Earl

William Douglas, 6th Earl of Douglas

William Douglas was a short-lived Scottish Nobleman. He was Earl of Douglas and Wigtown, Lord of Galloway, Lord of Bothwell, Selkirk and Ettrick Forest, Eskdale, Lauderdale, and Annandale in Scotland, and de jure Duke of Touraine, Count of Longueville, and Sire of Dun-le-roi in France...

, was restored by the 8th Earl, who recovered the lordships of Wigtown

Wigtown

Wigtown is a town and former royal burgh in the Machars of Galloway in the south west of Scotland. It lies south of Newton Stewart and east of Stranraer. It has a population of about 1,000...

, Galloway

Galloway

Galloway is an area in southwestern Scotland. It usually refers to the former counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire...

 and Bothwell

Bothwell

Bothwell is a small town in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, nine miles east-south-east of Glasgow city centre....

 by marriage (by papal dispensation) to his cousin, Margaret Douglas, Fair Maid of Galloway

Margaret Douglas, Fair Maid of Galloway

Margaret Douglas, Countess of Douglas known as the Fair Maid of Galloway was a Scottish noblewoman, a member of the Black Douglas family towards the end of the family's position as a major force in Scotland....

 (daughter of the 5th Earl

Archibald Douglas, 5th Earl of Douglas

Archibald Douglas was a Scottish nobleman and General, son of Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas and Margaret Stewart, eldest daughter of Robert III...

). He was soon high in favour with James II

James II of Scotland

James II reigned as King of Scots from 1437 to his death.He was the son of James I, King of Scots, and Joan Beaufort...

, and procured the disgrace of Sir William Crichton, presumed murderer of his kinsman the 6th Earl, by an alliance with his rival, Sir Alexander Livingstone

Alexander Livingstone

Alexander Livingstone may refer to:*Alexander Livingstone, 1st Earl of Linlithgow , 7th Lord Livingston, created Earl of Linlithgow in 1600...

.

James II raided the Douglas lands during his absence on a pilgrimage to Rome. Despite this, their relations seemed outwardly friendly. However, in 1452 the king sent one of Douglas's friends, Sir William Lauder of Haltoun, with an invitation to Douglas to come to Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle, located in Stirling, is one of the largest and most important castles, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland. The castle sits atop Castle Hill, an intrusive crag, which forms part of the Stirling Sill geological formation. It is surrounded on three sides by steep...

 under a safe-conduct, in itself, however, a proof of strained relations. There James demanded the dissolution of a league into which Douglas had entered with Alexander Lindsay, the 'Tiger' earl of Crawford

Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford

Alexander Lindsay, 4th Earl of Crawford acceded 1446, died September 1453.Father: David Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Crawford Mother: Marjory OgilvieMarried Margaret Dunbar and had 3 children, Elizabeth, David 5th Earl born 1440 and Alexander the 7th Earl....

, and John of Islay

John of Islay, Earl of Ross

John of Islay was a late medieval Scottish magnate. He was Earl of Ross and last Lord of the Isles as well as being Mac Domhnaill, chief of Clan Donald....

. Upon Douglas's refusal the king murdered him with his own hands, stabbing him 26 times, and his body was thrown out a window

Defenestration

Defenestration is the act of throwing someone or something out of a window.The term "defenestration" was coined around the time of an incident in Prague Castle in the year 1618. The word comes from the Latin de- and fenestra...

.

Dying without issue, his titles passed to his brother James

James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas

James Douglas, 9th Earl of Douglas, 3rd Earl of Avondale KG was a Scottish nobleman, last of the 'Black' earls of Douglas. He was a twin, the older by a few minutes, the younger was Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray....

.

Douglas in fiction

Douglas is the central character in Black Douglas, a novel by Nigel Tranter

Nigel Tranter

Nigel Tranter OBE was a Scottish historian and author.-Early life:Nigel Tranter was born in Glasgow and educated at George Heriot's School in Edinburgh. He trained as an accountant and worked in Scottish National Insurance Company, founded by his uncle. In 1933 he married May Jean Campbell Grieve...

, which is speculative about a few issues e.g. claiming that he had a dysfunctional marriage.